Lean on Me
by ThePhantomWolf
Summary: James Kidd suffers due to memories of prison in the month or so after their, Anne's and Edward's escape. As their ship is lost, Kidd remains on The Jackdaw.


For ease of reading, Mary is referred to by her disguise until named otherwise by Edward. I had to write something for them, ending my age long break.

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Edward lay silent. He focused on the sounds of the waves, the creaks of the ship and the small shifts and grumbles his companion voiced from across the room. He kept his eyes shut, half of him tried to block out the sounds of James Kidd as they slept, the other welcomed it into his nightly routine. It was strange, a feeling they belonged there, that they belonged on the ship yet at the same time it wasn't quite right.

He gave up and followed the request of his eyes to check his companion was ok. James was where he had been last time Edward checked. They were in the hammock still stretched in knots as they tangled themselves deeper in the woven mesh and light blanket. One of their legs kicked out of the hammock, he couldn't tell where the other was, nor their arms as they folded and twisted like a cat.

Finally their fitful sleep tipped them from the hammock with a bump and James stumbled to their feet, startled and arms raised, the hidden blades on their forearms glinted in the dull light. James looked around and sighed as they ran a hand through their messy, black hair, now free from the bandanna they usually wore, the beaded strands made the faintest clinks Edward wasn't sure he heard or imagined. They should have been cold, clad only in a pair of baggy trousers and the wrappings that crisscrossed their chest yet didn't care about the chill.

"Jim?" James froze and stared at him with wide brown eyes. Realization set in and they relaxed again then wandered over to Edward's hammock.

"I thought I was over those memories, it's been more than a month," James muttered in their peculiar voice. It cracked slightly as they tried to affect a lower voice than they had, yet still intoxicated the listener with a unique charm.

"Bonny spoke with me recently. She still has them, she thinks she will for a long time." Edward swung to sit up and face them.

"I love Bonny," Edward raised an eyebrow and they added, "like a sister. But she's a lass who worked in a tavern and got in too deep. I've done this for years, I've been on a ship since I could walk, I've been up the riggin' since I was tall enough to reach, fightin' since I could hold a sword an' shoot a pistol. Hell, I've been stealin' longer than I've talked. It shouldn't bother me."

"But you haven't had a child before," Edward whispered, hesitant to suggest a cause. James trembled, a worthless attempt to fight back the tears they knew would follow.

"They took her. They left me to rot and they took her." James chewed their lip, focused on anything but the small rivers that traced their way along grimy cheeks. Fists clenched, muscles tensed, bound by tension that rippled across the thin form until they turned and roared, a hand connected with wood and left bloody marks on the wall of The Jackdaw until they crumpled in a heap.

"Everyone needs someone to lean on, Mary." Her true name whispered in quiet reverence for the bravery of her actions, not just physical but emotional also. Reverence for the decision to ever step on board a ship or command a crew despite her gender. He helped her stand and started to move her to her bunk. She sprung in with ease but looked numb with the dark shadows from a lack of sleep. Edward was halted from his return to his own hammock by Mary's grasp on his shirt.

"This won't be a habit or nothin'... Just be my person to lean on." For once he didn't offer a smart comment as he joined a lass in her bed. Edward simply drew the blankets up, pulled her close and listened. First to the quiet, shaky breaths then to her while she spoke and fought against her own tears and then as she cried freely.

At her prompts he offered his own tales, his own suffering and loss, his own tears. She listened in return and they traded tales, each being a confidant, someone to trust as they admitted things few would dare until they settled into comfortable silence, only broken by the now calm, steady breaths of both. Together they fit into a whole, broken and chipped areas mended, though certainly the physical aspect seemed right also, her head on his chest, his arm around her waist, that too felt as though a whole was formed from two halves.

Suddenly, the sound of James Kidd's breathing was no longer strange, it fit together with the rest of the sounds of the ship in the night, as she nuzzled closer and he held her tight everything else felt just right.

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Don't lie to me and say these two weren't an amazing pair and that you didn't mourn Mary. Second, did anyone notice I got through that story without saying Jaysus? Kinda hard when I consider it her catchphrase.

Yeah, rate n review, be nice if I heard they sounded correct, I was worried Mary would sound too weak, not stressed and pained from her bout in prison. I hope I got that right, the whole starvation, near death and kidnapping of her daughter... If anyone can write novel length stories then please write up the ending to that plot thread!


End file.
